History of Time Surrounding Othello
Racial outlook in Italy in the late 1500sJust like almost anywhere else in the world, being African in Italy, definitely helped a man or woman of this descent stand out. People from North and South Africa were very present in Italy. However, racial tensions were very high, as there was slavery well before and during the 1500s, although it was limited, there was slavery nonetheless.
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Treatment of darker complected people in ItalyThe treatment of Africans or even African-Italians in Italy was very similar to how the treatment in America was, but on lesser harsh scale. The hatred was there, but there were more people in Italy that had fought to protect and gain rights for Africans that had chose to be associated with Italy.
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Reason behind the hatredAs Christianity is the nation's most popular religion, it was thought that people who were darker complected or black had no souls. Due to the color of their skin. It was normal to use religion as a reason to excuse racism, as they figured that Africans (mainly from North and South Africa, since this is who they were mainly exposed to), worshiped the devil.
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